Yesterday, we received a shipment of wines through the auspices of Snooth, yes, they are samples. I think that some bloggers go out of their way to pander and solicit samples and I haven’t, otherwise in almost seven years I would be running amok with samples. I hold in honor and esteem some of my fellow wine bloggers, if I may put myself in their ranks, who accept and write about samples as part of their routine; I have disdain for some of the wine bloggers, that I do not want to be in their ranks, who publicly attest how important they are, because they get samples. I wish to do the right thing at all times and to be fair and honest. Snooth is conducting another virtual wine tasting that I will be participating with them on 3 April, 2019 at 8:30 PM EDT and you can go to snooth.com to sign in to follow the event live.

All of the wines are from Lodi, California and I would venture to say that for forty-some odd years, Lodi was not even mentioned, though for the first ten years that I drank wine, only Napa Valley was mentioned if California was even brought up. As I slowly learned that there was a whole world of wines, I tried to discover as many regions and types of wines as I could, and I may say that even being in the un-cosmopolitan environment of a wine apathetic Detroit, I did alright for myself. I eventually discovered Lodi and realized how much more I had to learn about wines. Here was a Mediterranean climate region that was land locked in California, east of Sacramento to the Sierra Foothills and enjoying the breezes from the San Francisco Bay. The more wines that I tried from this area, the more I appreciated it, and the area is so well respected that the Lodi AVA appellation also carries seven sub-regions as well.

I think for years I may have side-stepped Lodi, because I had associated it with Zinfandel and I foolishly always associated Zinfandel with homemade “Dago Red,” and do you see how much I have to learn, in fact I have acquired a new heart-felt appreciation for Zinfandel in my old age. Lodi, is also known for Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, Viognier, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Some of the wineries are also making inroads with Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, Graciano, Riesling and Albarino. This sample collection is already getting me excited, because it is an offering of varietals that are not as common and giving me a chance to really discover some new and interesting wines. The first wine out of the box is Acquiesce Ingenue Lodi 2018 which is so new, that on the website of Acquiesce, Ingenue was not even listed and I had to do a quick research to find out that this wine is a blend of Grenache Blanc, Clairette Blanch, Bourboulenc and Picpoul Blanc. The second white wine is m2 Vermentino Mokelumne River-Lodi 2018, a varietal that I normally associate with Italy and this wine was still too new to be listed on their website. The third wine is Lange Twins Family Winery and Vineyards Aglianico Rosé River Ranch Vineyard Lodi 2018 and I have had this grape once before, but not as a Rosé styled wine. The first red wine is Mettler Family Vineyards Estate Grown Pinotage Lodi 2016, and this will be my fourth Pinotage and only the second one grown in California. The second red wine is Prie Vineyards Ancient Vine (1900) Block 4 Spenker Ranch Vineyards Carignane Lodi 2016 and this grape is mostly encountered in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France and the Priorat region of Spain, and this wine is just hinted at on their website. The last of the wines offered as a sample for the virtual wine tasting is Michael David Winery Inkblot Cabernet Franc Lodi 2016 which may be the most commonly encountered varietal of the entire group, and I jokingly told my Bride that she couldn’t have any of this wine, because it is her favorite grape, and I sometimes use it as leverage to get a nicer bottle of wine when we are out on the town. I am really looking forward to this wine tasting, not only to enlarge my knowledge of what Lodi has to offer, but also to try some of these interesting grape varietals that are more off the beaten track. Once again, I must thank Snooth for this wonderful evening and event coming soon.

Thank you for stopping by, and I have to agree that there are some great wines from Italy, and some of the earliest wines that I grew up with were Italian, but I have to be diplomatic and say that I have had some spectacular wines from several diverse places on the globe. – John